China praises Zardari`s India visit

Beijing: China on Sunday lauded Pakistan
President Asif Ali Zardari`s visit to India, saying better
ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours will benefit
both countries and bring regional stability which is vital for
China`s own modernisation drive.

"Better ties between Pakistan and India, two nuclear-
armed heavyweight neighbours on the South Asian subcontinent,
will benefit both countries and regional stability," a
commentary by state-run Xinhua news agency said.

"The two countries` efforts in warming up their ties
certainly are welcomed and applauded by the international
community including China, which neighbours both nations and
maintains significant ties with them," it said.

Noting that Pakistan`s decision to phase out major
restrictions on Indian imports by the end of the year, it said
"better bilateral ties will undoubtedly boost their economies
and may help bring down their defence expenditures, bringing
tangible benefits to the two countries and peoples".

China and Pakistan have been all-weather friends over the
past decades, while both China and India have been members of
BRICS, a bloc of five major emerging economies that also
includes Brazil, Russia and South Africa.

"China wants to further boost ties with both countries,
and is happy to witness continuous improvement of the
Pakistan-India ties," it said.

"Peaceful coexistence between the two countries, which
fought three wars after their independence from the British
rule in 1947 and engaged in a tit-for-tat nuclear test race in
1998, is indispensable for regional stability, which is vital
for regional prosperity and China`s modernisation drive," the
news agency said.